GSPCB cracks down on Margao establishments for violations

MARGAO
After coming under the radar of the Margao Municipal Council for the last several months, the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) on Tuesday finally cracked a whip against erring hotels and restaurants discharging waste water in the drains and operating sans the Board’s consent to operate.

A total of two hotels and a bar were sealed on Tuesday upon the GSPCB directions. As news spread over the GSPCB crackdown, a couple of hotels shut down shutters in the commercial capital fearing similar action by the Board against their establishments.

The action comes in the wake of an inspection carried out by the GSPCB wherein it was found that a number of hotels and restaurants operating in the city were discharging waste and kitchen water into the storm water drains.

That’s not all. Most of the establishments were found operating without the mandatory consent to operate from the GSPCB, thus violating provisions of the Water Act.

The inspection team observed that the units were carrying out commercial activity of cafe/hotel and operating sans the valid consent to operate of the Board as required under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981).

It was further noted that the units were discharging domestic waste water into the storm water drains.

GSPCB Member Secretary Dr Shamila Monteiro pointed out in the show cause notices that operating the units without the valid consent to operate of the Board as required under the Water (Prevention and Control of Collation) Act, 1974 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 amounts to gross violation of the provisions of the said Acts, while directing the units to close/suspend the operations until further orders.

A hotel/café which was sealed on Tuesday by the officials of the district Collectorate upon GSPCB orders was found operating without the mandatory consent to operate and discharging the kitchen waste water into the storm water drain.

The GSPCB action comes in the wake of public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Navelim villager Antonio Alvares complaining of the rampant discharge of sewage and waste water by commercial establishments and residential houses, contaminating the picturesque Salpem lake at Navelim and leaving the River Sal polluted.

The Margao Municipal Council had earlier found over 200 establishments in the city conducting business activity without connecting the waste and sewage water to the underground sewerage line.

Meanwhile, a café owner has slammed the authorities for sealing his establishment when he has been knocking the doors of the PWD to connect his business premises to the underground line. “Every time, I approach the PWD to release the sewerage connection, I was told that the underground line is not yet laid near our establishment. It’s only in the last few days, the underground sewerage line is being laid, but before we could be issued the connection, the GSPCB has sealed my establishment. This is unfair since the authorities should have first set up the facility for the hotels to take the connection.”